The use of packet based communication in wireless networks extends the use of wireless devices into packet based networks such as Internet or operator specific networks and services available in these networks. There is an interest from operators or service providers to provide increasingly better service to the users and to offer added functionality and ease the use of services and increase availability of the networks for the users.
With state-of-the-art technology such as Evolved Packet Core, SIM based authentication, Deep Packet Inspection and Policy and Charging Control (PCC), mobile operators can gather potentially extensive information about each subscriber, e.g. protocols they use, URI's or sites on Internet they visit, their identity. This information can with some limitations be transformed into end-user interest profiles. The mobile operator may also have other information of its subscribers, e.g. interest profiles gathered through end-user surveys or queries, which may complement in building the end-user interest profiles.
So far operators have been able to use the information about the usage of services to differentiate the subscriber's charging or to control the access in different ways (e.g. stop access to certain sites or services, control the bandwidth etc).
PCC is defined to work in this direction only. It has however been difficult to address the growing market for subscriber usage and behavior analysis and extend the business beyond traditional use cases and find new business opportunities, e.g. sell usage/behavior information to third party companies.